Category: Baseball

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Nationals play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

5 things to watch

Is this an audition for Brandon Sproat?

Sproat, who gets the start on Friday night, has been impressive over his first two big league starts, allowing just three runs in 12.0 innings while walking four and striking out 10.

And he was unscored upon in his last outing, when he fired 6.0 innings of shutout ball against the Rangers at Citi Field.

If the Mets reach the postseason, the expectation is that Nolan McLean will be a lock to start one of the games in the Wild Card Series. The other start or two? That's up in the air.

Kodai Senga could possibly make a start, but he could also be left off a potential postseason roster. Meanwhile, David Peterson -- who was touched up for six runs on Wednesday -- has a 5.23 ERA in 65.1 innings spanning 12 starts in the second half of the season.

That potentially leaves a possible piggyback outing from Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea, and a start for Sproat as the other most sensible options in the Wild Card Series.

There's also the possibility Sproat could be used as a late-inning reliever, with the club badly in need of a reliable righty to help bridge the gap to Tyler Rogers and Edwin Diaz.

The Nolan McLean Show

McLean has been phenomenal since debuting, with a 1.19 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 37.2 innings over six starts. He has allowed just 25 hits while walking 12 and striking out 40.

And what's been just as impressive as McLean's filthy arsenal has been his poise on the mound, his ability to pitch deep into games, and how he has quickly righted the ship and battled through outings where he doesn't have his best stuff.

He enters Saturday's start with a groundball rate of 62.9 percent and having allowed just one home run.

If things stay on track, McLean would possibly be lined up to pitch again next Thursday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, which could theoretically set him up to pitch Game 1 of the Wild Card Series the following Tuesday -- should the Mets be there.

The Mets' offense should feast

The Nationals are a very bad baseball team.

They have the third-most losses in baseball (ahead of just the Rockies and White Sox), and have allowed the second-most runs in the majors (ahead of only the Rockies). The Nats also have the second-worst run differential in the sport, ahead of just the Rockies.

Put it all together and this should be a field day for a Mets offense that has been hit and miss this season -- but has looked better lately.

Cade Cavalli and Mitchell Parker are expected to get starts in this series, while MacKenzie Gore is not.

What's the plan for Sunday?

Manaea was placed on paternity leave before Thursday's game, meaning it's possible he won't be able to pitch on Sunday.

The expectation had been that he and Holmes would again piggyback.

Asked before Wednesday's game if Manaea could still pitch on Sunday, Carlos Mendoza was unsure, noting that if Manaea is able to throw while he's on leave that he could potentially be ready.

In a world where Manaea can't go on Sunday, the Mets might have to lean heavily on the bullpen behind Holmes. 

The out-of-town scoreboard

The Mets will enter play on Friday still leading the Diamondbacks, Giants, and Reds in the race for the third and final wild card spot in the National League.

As the Mets battle the Nats, here's what their closest competitors will be doing:

Diamondbacks: vs. Phillies for three games
Reds: vs. Cubs for four games
Giants: at Dodgers for four games

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Pete Alonso

Alonso has been heating up power-wise

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Nolan McLean

It's McLean until proven otherwise

Which Nats player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

CJ Abrams

Abrams is Washington's most formidable threat

Giants' postseason hopes on life support after wasted chances in loss to Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LOS ANGELES — In their first draft under president of baseball operations Buster Posey, the Giants went out of their way to take contact hitters. A few weeks later, they took the same approach to the trade deadline.

The goal is to one day have more balance, to feature a lineup that includes free-swinging sluggers but also ancillary pieces that can keep a rally moving with a well-placed ball in play. The problem for the Giants is it might be years before the changes behind the scenes are seen on the field, and right now they still have a group that can seem stuck in the mud far too often. 

That’s never been more apparent than in the seventh inning Thursday.

After failing to score any of the six runners who drew a walk from Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Giants went walk, walk, strikeout, walk, walk, strikeout, strikeout in the seventh against right-handers Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen. With the game, and possibly their slim playoff hopes, on the line, nobody could put one in the gap, or find grass in front of an outfielder, or even hit a sacrifice fly. 

Nobody could do that all night, really. The lineup managed just one hit and wasted 10 walks and a stellar performance from Logan Webb, losing 2-1 and falling three games (plus the tiebreaker) behind the New York Mets with nine to go. 

“We put pressure on them. We just couldn’t get a hit,” manager Bob Melvin said. “That’s happened for us some this year. We certainly made their guys work, made their starter throw a lot of pitches, got him out after 5 1/3 and usually we do a little damage off the bullpen. We couldn’t do it other than drawing some walks and we couldn’t get a big hit.”

The lineup struck out 14 times, including six times in the last three innings. The two biggest ones came from two guys in the heart of the lineup. 

With the bases loaded in a 2-1 game, Willy Adames took a 2-2 sinker at the top of the zone that the Dodgers wanted. It was close, and the 3-2 pitch was just as close at the bottom of the zone. That one was called a strike as Adames protested. Matt Chapman then struck out swinging, stranding the three runners. 

“That’s why guys hit in the middle of the lineup. It just didn’t happen tonight,” Melvin said. “It’s frustrating. We had traffic all night long and you’d think we’d get one or two (home). Especially with Webby doing what he’s doing on the mound, we saw a lot of pitches and had a lot of traffic, but couldn’t get a hit, couldn’t get a big hit.”

Melvin called it a “Jekyll and Hyde” situation, and that’s really been the case the entire second half. The Giants were historically bad for several weeks and then turned into the best offense in baseball once everyone wrote them off. With a chance to catch the sliding Mets over the last week, they once again have gone silent. 

Incredibly, the Giants still might have found a way to win this one, but they gave a run away in the bottom of the sixth. With two in scoring position and one out, Mookie Betts hit a grounder to Adames, who threw a perfect strike to the plate. Patrick Bailey — who had the night’s only hit — dropped the ball as he tried to put down the tag. A Freddie Freeman single made it a two-run inning.

Bailey said there was no excuse. Webb made a good pitch and Adames made a great throw, he said. 

“I dropped the ball,” Bailey said, “Which is unacceptable.”

 That whole sequence from the bottom of the sixth through the top of the seventh wasted a bounceback performance from Webb, who allowed two runs — one earned — in seven innings and threw 103 pitches on a muggy night at Dodger Stadium. After throwing just eight sinkers last Saturday, he went back to his roots Thursday, firing sinkers and changeups at the Dodgers, who had just five hits of their own. 

“He was fantastic,” Melvin said. “He deserved to win that game.”

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Mets first baseman Pete Alonso's fourth straight game with a home run set the tone for New York in Thursday's 6-1 victory against the Padres, a series-deciding result that saw manager Carlos Mendoza's group (79-74) take 2 of 3 from San Diego (83-70) and hold the NL wild card's third spot by at least two games with nine regular-season contests left.

"He's locked in," Mendoza said of Alonso, whose two-out solo shot to center field off Randy Vásquez in the first inning put the Mets on the board at 1-0. "And when he's doing things like that, he can carry a team. We know he's a streaky hitter. We've seen it when he gets cold. And then when he gets hot, man, he gets on one of those streaks that he's pretty dangerous. And right now, where we're at -- if we get that type of Pete Alonso, our offense obviously will benefit from it, of course."

Alonso, whose 1-for-2 afternoon at Citi Field included a third-inning walk and seventh-inning sacrifice fly that capped the Mets' 6-1 lead, is slashing .270/.345/.526 with 37 home runs and 121 RBI through 153 games.

"I mean, I'm just happy that I'm seeing stuff to hit in the middle of the zone," Alonso said. "With that being said, getting those pitches in the heart of the plate, not missing them, is big. I just want to keep having quality at-bats and stay in every pitch and just capitalize on mistakes."

With a trio of three-game series left on the regular-season schedule, led by this weekend's set against the Washington Nationals and Friday's 7:10 p.m. opener on SNY, Alonso appears to be rounding into form for the Mets' postseason push.

"You always want to play your best baseball at the end of the year," Alonso said. "And if we can continue to do that -- it's not about how you start, it's not about how things happen in the middle, it's about how you finish. If we keep continuing to stay within ourselves and do the best we can and execute, then we're going to be in a really good spot."

The Mets picked up a crucial 6-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday, clinching a series victory and getting them closer to stamping their spot in the postseason.

While young starter Jonah Tong was dominant and the offense -- led by Brandon Nimmo's three-run homer -- led the way, it was the bullpen that stood out and helped seal the win and the series.

Often maligned for its inconsistencies, outside of closer Edwin Diaz, four arms -- including Diaz -- shut down a high-powered Padres lineup to just two hits in four shutout innings. Tyler Rogers, Brooks Raley, Gregory Soto and Diaz each pitched an inning with the closer -- having not pitched since Sunday -- picking up two strikeouts in a ho-hum 1-2-3 ninth.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about the bullpen and whether the piggyback situation on Tuesday, which saw Clay Holmes start and pitch four innings and Sean Manaea finish off their win, pitching the final five innings, helped save the bullpen for Thursday's series finale.

"It always helps," he said. "When I’m trying to be aggressive, taking the ball from the starters, when you know you’re set up with the guys, you’re trying to piece it together. But it was good to see those guys get the job done. Rogers against the top of the lineup in the sixth, Raley, Soto, and then Sugar finishing it there. It was good to see. 

"We’re going to continue to rely on those guys, but yes, having the piggyback situation on Tuesday, not having to use any of those guys, puts you in situations like this where you’re able to win series."

Nimmo for three

The Padres had just tied the game at 1-1 when the Mets came up to bat in the bottom of the third. A Juan Soto groundout pushed across Francisco Lindor to give back the lead for the Mets. After Pete Alonso walked to put runners at the corners with one out, Padres manager Mike Shildt pulled starter Randy Vasquez for southpaw Wandy Peralta to face Nimmo.  

Peralta got ahead of Nimmo in the count, 1-2, when he threw an 87 mph changeup that rode in on the Mets outfielder. However, Nimmo pulled his hands in and got the barrel of the bat on the ball and launched it over the right-center field wall for a three-run shot. That blast put the Mets up for good and after the game, he spoke about his approach in that at-bat.

"[Peralta's] very tough on lefties, great relief pitcher for a long time now," Nimmo said. "Just trying to get a job done, find the barrel to the ball and usually the way you do that is by getting him in the strike zone, and I was able to do that there and get the job done with two strikes. Just trying to keep things simple…sometimes you come through, sometimes you don’t.

"You miss all the shots you don’t take. Trying to go up there with a good plan, and we were able to execute and do something big there and get more done than I went up there hoping for."

Nimmo's blast in the third was the 24th of the season, tying a career-high he set back in 2023. It's the seventh game this season that Nimmo has driven in three or more runs in a game and he has now hit safely in 25 of his last 31 starts.

Nimmo's outfield assist

Before his heroics at the plate, Nimmo made a pretty big play in the outfield.

Tong found himself in some early trouble in the first inning, giving up back-to-back one-out singles to Luis Arraez and Manny Machado. However, on Machado's hit, Nimmo threw to Lindor, who quickly pitched the ball to Jeff McNeil at second base to apply the tag on Machado, who was trying to stretch the hit into a double.

"Able to get Manny at second and putting the pressure back on them and not make it so easy with second and third there, it definitely does change momentum in a game," he said. "Glad to be a part of that, Francisco and Jeff executing the play, glad we can help out there."

Tong was able to get out of that jam by striking out Jackson Merrill to leave Arraez stranded at third base. The young right-hander was able to coast from there, allowing one unearned run through five innings and striking out a career-high eight batters.

What we learned as Giants' offense struggles in demoralizing loss to Dodgers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES — The Giants did not get any help before they took the field Thursday. The New York Mets won their afternoon game and the Cincinnati Reds got a shutout from ace Hunter Greene.

They did, however, get a few gifts once they took the field at Dodger Stadium. Yoshinobu Yamamoto walked six batters and a couple of Dodgers relievers combined for four free passes in an inning, but the Giants couldn’t capitalize. They had just one hit, losing 2-1 in what was a must-win game given how good Logan Webb was.

The Giants fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth, but right-hander Michael Kopech walked the first two batters of the seventh. After a strikeout, right-hander Blake Treinen entered and walked Heliot Ramos and Rafael Devers, pushing a run across.

A well-placed ball in play would have tied the game and anything in a gap would have given the Giants the lead, but Willy Adames went down looking and Matt Chapman struck out swinging.

The Giants drew double-digit walks at Dodger Stadium for the first time since July 19, 2002, but that game went 12 innings. On this night, the walks were clustered in seven innings but led to one run.

With the loss, the Giants are now four games behind the New York Mets if you include the tiebreaker. They have just nine games left in the season and probably need to win out to have a shot.

Digging Deep At Short

Adames had a really slow start defensively this season, but he has looked like an above-average shortstop for several months and he made two strong plays in the sixth inning Thursday. With runners on second and third, Adames made a perfect throw to the plate to cut down catcher Ben Rortvedt, but Patrick Bailey dropped it and the go-ahead run scored.

Later in the inning, with runners on first and third, Adames saved a run with an athletic play on a grounder to the hole at short.

Willy Adames made two really good plays at short that inning. Patrick Bailey couldn't hold onto the first throw, but this one ended the inning and saved a run: pic.twitter.com/38sBZLuV0B

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) September 19, 2025

Adames entered the night at two Outs Above Average, although he had to dig out of a huge hole. His March/April metrics were the second worst in a single month for a shortstop this season, but the Giants now feel pretty good about his ability to stay there for years to come.

That’s More Like It

Given the stakes, last Saturday’s loss at Oracle Park was one of the most disappointing days of Webb’s career. But he bounced back in a big way Thursday, keeping the Giants in the game even as the offense struggled to get anything going against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After throwing just eight sinkers last weekend, Webb was his old self, throwing 32 of them.

Webb allowed two runs — only one earned — in seven innings and struck out five. He threw 103 pitches on a muggy night, but there was some bad luck in the only rally. The whole feel of that inning would have been different had the play at the plate been made.
Webb is now 4 1/3 innings away from becoming the first big leaguer this season to reach 200 innings. He got to 211 strikeouts on the season, moving two ahead of Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes.

Left on Left

The Dodgers brought in lefty Jack Dreyer to face Bryce Eldridge with the go-ahead run on second in the top of the sixth and manager Bob Melvin stuck with the rookie instead of pinch-hitting Wilmer Flores. It nearly paid off.
On a 2-2 pitch, Eldridge smoked a 102 mph line drive to right, but it was hit directly at Teoscar Hernandez. In two earlier at-bats against Yamamoto, Eldridge struck out. The rookie has had some solid at-bats through his first three starts in the big leagues, but is still looking for his first big league hit.

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The holy grail is upon them.

For the first time in franchise history, and in the year after a global superstar led them to a World Series championship, the Dodgers will hit 4 million in attendance this season.

The Dodgers have led the major league in attendance every year since 2013, the first full season under the Guggenheim ownership group chaired by Mark Walter. In press releases, the Dodgers regularly note the team has “the highest cumulative fan attendance in Major League Baseball history.”

Yet the 4-million barrier has been an elusive milestone. Lon Rosen, the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said the team would officially pass 4 million tickets sold on Sunday, in the regular season finale.

“We’re proud of the accomplishment,” Rosen said.

Read more:'A baseball legend.' Clayton Kershaw announces retirement after 18 seasons with Dodgers

No major league team has hit 4 million since the New York Mets and Yankees in 2008, the final season of Shea Stadium and the old Yankee Stadium, respectively. The Yankees also sold 4 million in 2005-07. The only other teams to do it: the Toronto Blue Jays (1991-93) and Colorado Rockies (1993).

No team besides the Dodgers can hit 4 million anymore. The Mets, Yankees and Rockies all moved into smaller stadiums; the Blue Jays downsized theirs.

A team that hits 4 million must average 49,383 tickets sold per game. The Arizona Diamondbacks play in the stadium with the second-largest capacity in the majors: 48,330. The Dodgers’ average entering play Thursday: 49,589.

The Dodgers sold 3.97 million tickets in 2019, coming off back-to-back World Series appearances, and 3.94 million last year. They have not sold fewer than 3.7 million under Guggenheim ownership, aside from the two seasons with pandemic-related attendance restrictions.

“We’re a very successful franchise, and I attribute it all to the players," Rosen said. “We have incredible players. We have very popular players.”

Technically, the Dodgers sold 4 million tickets in 1982, former Dodgers vice president of marketing Barry Stockhamer told The Times in 2010. Under National League rules at the time, teams were required to announce how many fans actually showed up, not how many tickets were sold. The Dodgers’ attendance that year was reported as 3.6 million.

The Dodgers’ dominance on the field under Walter and his partners — two World Series titles, four World Series appearances and 13 consecutive playoff berths — has been accompanied by dominance on the business side.

In essence, at a time when cable and satellite revenues are collapsing, the Dodgers can finance their player payroll either from ticket revenue or from local television revenue. The Dodgers’ payroll is about $340 million this season.

The Dodgers’ SportsNet LA contract with Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum, pays an average of $334 million per season. However, the contract started in 2014 and extends through 2038, with the annual payment rising each year — to more than $500 million by the end of the deal, according to people familiar with the deal but not authorized to disclose its terms.

The Dodgers generated $4.29 million in ticket revenue last season for each regular-season home game, according to an internal league document first reported by Sportico and confirmed by The Times. That totaled $343.2 million for 80 home games last season, at an average ticket price of about $80.

As the Dodgers compete with the San Diego Padres for the National League West title, the Dodgers’ SportsNet LA contract exacerbates the financial disparity. The Padres have sold out 66 of 75 home games this season and have sold more tickets than any team besides the Dodgers and Yankees, but the Padres have cut payroll over the past two years, following the bankruptcy and subsequent implosion of the parent company of what was then called Bally Sports.

In August, the Padres told season ticket-holders their average price increase for 2026 would be 7% — the fifth consecutive season with an increase, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Padres raised prices by an average of 20% for the 2022 season and 18% for the 2023 season, the Union-Tribune reported.

Rosen declined to discuss how much the Dodgers had raised the price of season tickets for 2026, although several fans told The Times their seats had increased in the range of 20%. Rosen said the Dodgers’ renewals were “going well.”

The Dodgers still have bills to pay beyond player payroll, of course: a robust staff in both baseball operations and business operations, Dodger Stadium operations and maintenance, minor league operations, revenue sharing and more than $100 millon in luxury taxes among them.

They also make money in ways besides tickets and SportsNet LA, among them national broadcast revenue, national and local merchandise revenue, corporate sponsorships, and stadium parking and concessions.

“We put the money back into the team,” Rosen said. “Our owners have done that from day one.”

Read more:A dominant Blake Snell provides 'a huge boost' as the Dodgers shut out the Phillies

With Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers already had a star-studded roster. The addition of Shohei Ohtani, and the tourists that follow him from Japan, supercharged the Dodgers’ business and finally vaulted the team over the magic 4-million mark.

It is not just that the fans come out to see a winner, Kershaw said. It is that the fans provide an edge that helps keep the team a winner.

“Without question,” Kershaw said. "Any time you play in front of a packed house at home, it’s important. We play every day. It’s hard to create energy sometimes, just because you play so much. I think having the fans behind us every day and seeing that packed house gives you that little bit of added energy.

“You play a day game on the road somewhere, and there’s nobody there, it’s hard to mimic. Even though it is a big league game, there are levels to this. Playing at home in front of our fans is definitely a home-field advantage.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

After dominating every level of the minor leagues en route to his call-up to the Mets in late August, Jonah Tong hit his first speedbump his last time out against the Texas Rangers. The righty recorded just two outs while allowing four hits and walking three. He was charged with six earned runs, raising questions about whether or not he’d even stay in the rotation moving forward.

In Thursday afternoon’s ultra-important win over the San Diego Padres, Tong rose to the occasion and silenced any doubters, allowing just one unearned run on four hits over his 5.0 innings of work, setting a new career-high with eight strikeouts while not walking a single batter.

“I threw a lot more strikes,” Tong said with a smile when asked what the biggest difference was this time around. “I just think from the very first pitch I had the confidence to attack hitters. I feel like I did a better job with it this time around.”

Following the game, manager Carlos Mendoza said that Tong “wasn’t messing around,” noting that the 22-year-old didn’t let Padres hitters back into the count once he got ahead of them.

“There’s a lot to like, after the last outing and even today in the first couple of innings. They put together some good at-bats and he was kind of scattered there,” Mendoza said. “…That’s kind of like the guy we saw at the minor league level, pretty much the whole year. Getting swings and misses with the fastball at the top, the changeup, the curveball, he was attacking, he was pretty impressive.”

Pete Alonso, who smashed his fourth home run in as many games, echoed the words of his manager, noting that Tong’s outing was not just great for the young right-hander’s confidence, but for the rest of the team as well, as the Mets collected their third win in their last four games as they look to secure a spot in the 2025 postseason.

“He was poised the entire day. …Really stoked for him,” Alonso said. “Like those bounce-back outings are huge for development. Again, we talk about a kid who’s still 22 years old. Obviously, he’s got sky-high potential, and you’re seeing him kind of develop into a big-league professional right in front of your eyes.

“Really stoked for him, and he threw the ball excellent for us today. It was huge for the team, but I’m really happy for him, because seeing him succeed and bounce back like that shows a lot of character.”

Clayton Kershaw, one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, will retire at the end of the season.

The 37-year-old is nearing the end of his 18th MLB season, all of which he has spent with the Dodgers.

Kershaw’s final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium will be on Friday, although he is likely to appear in Los Angeles again during the upcoming playoffs.

Related: Mariners’ Cal Raleigh hits 55th and 56th homers of season to break Mickey Mantle’s record

“On behalf of the Dodgers, I congratulate Clayton on a fabulous career and thank him for the many moments he gave to Dodger fans and baseball fans everywhere, as well as for his profound charitable endeavors,” Dodgers owner Mark Walter said in a statement on Thursday. “His is a truly legendary career, one that we know will lead to his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.”

As Walter suggested, Kershaw is a lock for the hall of fame. He is a three-time Cy Young winner and was named National League MVP in 2014. He is also an 11-time All-Star – he made the cut again this season – and won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020. He has an ERA of 2.54 across his career and maintained a respectable 3.53 ERA in 20 starts this season, even as his fastball started to slow.

If there was a knock on Kershaw’s career, it was a lack of postseason success. The Dodger owns a 13-13 record with a 4.49 ERA in the postseason, a stark contrast from his 2.54 career ERA in the regular season, to go with a 222-96 record. The 2020 World Series win calmed those criticisms somewhat, though (Kershaw did not pitch in the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series championship due to injury).

The Dodgers have a six-man rotation heading into this coming postseason – although they have not clinched their spot yet, it would require a spectacular meltdown for them to miss out – which may mean Kershaw does not start.

“I feel that there’s a place for him on our postseason roster,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told ESPN this week. “I don’t know what role, but I think that the bottom line is, I trust him. And so, for me, the postseason is about players you trust.”

Kershaw always looked destined for an excellent career and was highly touted coming out of high school. The Dodgers picked him No 7 overall in the 2006 draft, a selection they have never regretted.

Alex Cora presenting picture of calm as Red Sox' grip on playoff spot loosens originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

“It wasn’t a good day for us.”

Those were the words of Alex Cora following Thursday afternoon’s 5-3 loss to the We’re-Not-From-Sacramento-What-Are-You-Talking-About Athletics at Fenway Park, though they weren’t delivered for the reason you might think.

You might think that the walls are closing in, chests are getting tight and hearts are pounding inside the Boston clubhouse. But Cora? He’ll tell you he and everyone else in uniform remains cool as a cucumber.

“The days are the same,” Cora said nonchalantly on Thursday. “Nothing changes. The preparation is the same, and we just keep rolling.”

That’s the message.

Here’s the reality.

That loss, combined with a Guardians win, shrunk Boston’s lead over Cleveland to just 1.5 games for the final AL wild-card spot. It also delivered a series loss to the sub-.500 A’s, the second straight series loss at home for the Red Sox after dropping two out of three to the Yankees over the weekend.

With only nine games remaining and the red-hot Guardians making a charge, one might expect a bit of worry to be creeping into the Red Sox’ clubhouse. Cora — as you know by now — simply says that is not the case.

“I mean, we control our own destiny,” the manager said matter-of-factly. “So, go to Tampa and win a series. That’s the way I see it.”

Thursday’s loss dropped the Red Sox to 7-8 in the month of September, an inconvenient time for bad baseball to creep back into their systems after going 34-18 in July and August. The Guardians, meanwhile, are 13-4 in September, completing a sweep in Detroit on Thursday before heading to Minnesota, where they’ll face the 66-86 Twins (losers of 12 of their last 16) in a four-game set.

The Red Sox may still “control their own destiny,” but that status likely won’t last through the weekend if they drop another series to an opponent that is, on paper, inferior.

“Yeah. I mean, we never want that, but obviously we’ve got to turn the page,” Cora said. “We’ve got two (series) on the road — we go to Tampa and Toronto — we’ve gotta play better baseball. That’s it. I think offensively, there were some signs today, but we’re not there. We’re not there offensively. We’ve just gotta make sure we understand who we are as an offense, try to keep the line moving.”

Despite seven hits and a pair of homers, the Red Sox’ offense didn’t really do enough damage against J.T. Ginn, who allowed a pair of runs over his six innings. Boston managed to get just two baserunners aboard against the bullpen over the final three innings, and with Brayan Bello allowing three runs in the first inning en route to an ineffective four-inning outing, it was another one of those days at Fenway Park for the home team.

Cora’s statement of it not being a good day for the team was not about the big picture, though. Cora made that comment in reference to shortstop Trevor Story’s pair of throwing errors, each of which came with two outs — one in the third inning, one in the seventh — and allowed a run to cross the plate.

Story, along with Alex Bregman, represents the vocal veteran leadership core of the team. And while he tried to follow his manager’s lead by expressing confidence in the team, he ended up making a statement that borders on delusion.

“We haven’t been playing our best brand of baseball. It’s as simple as that,” Story, who hit a solo homer in the eighth inning Thursday, said. “We have the mindset that we’re gonna be playing for a month after this, so we’re not just trying to limp in. I think that’s a trap in itself. So we can keep looking ahead and keep trying to chase down that division.”

The division Story referenced is a chase that died with a 3-5 stretch against Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Arizona. The AL East-leading Blue Jays entered Thursday night six games clear of the Red Sox, likely not having to even worry too much about the Yankees, who sat 3.5 games back in second place.

The Red Sox, quite clearly, will not be making a run at the division, contrary to whatever assertion Story might have tried to make.

Still, the 32-year-old did present a simple approach for his teammates to follow.

“We can control what happens. We play good baseball, we get in. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “We know what we’ve done. We know what we can do. We’ve played some of the best baseball I feel like all season long over a good stretch of time, and I think that’s where we get our confidence from, is we know how good we can be.

“We’ve proven that, but also it’s time to do it when the time is right. And that’s now.”

For Cora, the resilience shown by the 2021 team to sweep the Nationals on the final weekend of the regular season (after a 1-5 stretch prior to that series) to reclaim a postseason spot provides evidence that there’s no reason to worry at this moment in time.

“For me, I take it the same day I took it in ’21,” Cora said. “Take it one day at a time. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. It’s part of the season. It’s 162 for a reason.”

One could point out that the ’21 team was filled with veterans and World Series champions — Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Kyle Schwarber, Nate Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez and Chris Sale among them — while also having fifth-year third baseman Rafael Devers ascending to All-Star status that season.

This team, outside of Bregman and closer Aroldis Chapman, doesn’t quite have the same pedigree. And losses like Thursday’s — and Tuesday’s, and Friday’s … and last Wednesday’s — provide a glimpse of a team that struggles to score runs in the season’s most critical stretch.

With the goal of “winning the series” in Tampa for the weekend, even that may not be enough. If the Red Sox win two of three over the Rays while the Guardians take three of four in Minnesota, they’ll still lose ground on the Guardians entering the final week.

FanGraphs gave the Red Sox a 98.2 percent chance of making the playoffs on Sept. 2. The current number of 82.6 percent still paints a pretty picture, but momentum is clearly moving in the direction that could lead to the dirty word of collapse resurfacing in the greater Boston for the final week of the season.

Maybe.

With a magic number of eight, the Red Sox can still make life fairlyeasy for themselves with a 6-3 record over the final 10 days of the season. That would, of course, require the Guardians to lose just twice in their final 10 games to punch Boston’s tickets to the Wild Card Series.

The question is … can they actually do it? Has anything this month provided reason for belief that as the pressure mounts, the Red Sox will produce, and pitch, and win?

From inside the clubhouse, the manager is putting forth a message of calm confidence. From the outside, doubt continues to mount.

On Friday night, Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to take the mound at Dodger Stadium for the 246th time in his illustrious career.

On Thursday afternoon, he made a long-awaited announcement that could make it his last trip atop the bump.

After 18 seasons, three Cy Young Awards, one MVP and two World Series titles, the 37-year-old Kershaw announced he will retire from Major League Baseball after this season.

After 222 wins, more than 2,800 innings, over 3,000 strikeouts, and a career 2.54 ERA, his countdown to Cooperstown will begin this winter.

pic.twitter.com/Y3wehQaONJ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 18, 2025

Kershaw’s retirement had been a long time coming. Over each of the past four offseasons, he contemplated whether or not to walk away from the game. An 11-time All-Star and five-time ERA champion, he long ago ensured his spot as a future Hall of Fame pitcher. As the enduring face of the Dodgers franchise over the last two decades, his stature in club lore had been cemented.

Yet, he continued to want to play.

Despite an elbow injury at the end of the 2021 season, a shoulder surgery after the 2023 campaign, and foot and knee procedures this past offseason, Kershaw continued to come back and play for the Dodgers — never ready to give up another title chase.

This year, however, he authored the kind of renaissance season that once felt beyond him. He is 10-2 in 20 starts with a 3.53 ERA. He has been an integral member of a first-place Dodgers team. And though one more title hunt remains ahead, with the Dodgers trying to defend last year’s World Series, he decided his time in baseball was finally up.

This season served as a closing chapter on a storybook career.

Originally drafted seventh overall by the Dodgers out of Highland Park High School in Texas in 2006, Kershaw has spent his whole career in the organization, going from top prospect to young sensation to Cy Young winner to pitcher of his generation.

He made his MLB debut in 2008, and broke out as a star the following year. By 2011, he had earned his first All-Star selection, his first ERA title and his first Cy Young Award. The accolades would keep coming after that — with Kershaw leading the majors in ERA each season from 2011-2014, winning two more Cy Youngs in 2013 and 2014, and becoming only only the 22nd pitcher to ever win MVP honors with his 21-3, 1.77-ERA season in that historic 2014 campaign.

The back half of Kershaw’s career was plagued by injuries, starting with a bad back that sidelined him for part of 2016.

Still, he earned another ERA in 2017, while helping the Dodgers win their first pennant in 29 years. He had a resurgent performance in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, going 6-2 in the regular season with a 2.16 ERA before finally experiencing a World Series title.

Up to that point, the postseason was the only area were Kershaw struggled. In 32 playoff outings from 2008-2019, he was 9-11 with a 4.43 ERA — numbers that included painful collapses against the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros and Washington Nationals along the way.

But in 2020, Kershaw vanquished such demons, making five starts and going 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in the Dodgers’ first victorious World Series run since 1998. The title, Kershaw has said since, meant more than even he could have ever imagined.

And once he won it once, he craved to do it again.

That’s why, even as his body has continued to break down in recent years, Kershaw kept coming back every spring. He believed, when healthy, he could still contribute to a World Series roster. And despite numerous free-agent flirtations with his hometown Texas Rangers, he always saw the Dodgers as the best way to get there.

Read more:A dominant Blake Snell provides 'a huge boost' as the Dodgers shut out the Phillies

It made last year’s World Series run a sentimental one for the iconic left-hander. Kershaw was a limited participant, making only seven starts in the regular season before missing the playoffs with his foot and knee problems. But he relished in the celebration, especially the title-winning parade that the 2020 team had been denied by the pandemic.

"I love you guys, thank you!” Kershaw shouted to the crowd at Chavez Ravine that day.

“Dodger for life!"

On Thursday, Kershaw made that distinction official.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

It's possible that 22-year-old Mets rookie Jonah Tong was pitching for his spot on the roster on Thursday against the Padres at Citi Field, one start after failing to make it out of the first inning.

If that was the case, he answered the question emphatically, firing 5.0 innings of often-dominant ball while allowing one unearned run on four hits as he walked none and struck out eight in New York's win over the Padres. He threw 82 pitches on the day, with 59 going for strikes.

The line does not do Tong's start justice.

He allowed a scratch unearned run in the third inning, but was literally untouchable after that. Tong retired the last seven batters he faced, striking out four batters in a row at one point.

Tong's biggest weapon on Thursday -- as will be the case most of the time -- was his four-seam fastball.

The fastball was sitting around 93-94 mph at the start of Tong's outing, but he reached back for more as the game went on, regularly hitting 95 mph and topping out at 96 as he induced plenty of swings and misses up in the zone.

That ability to use the fastball to miss bats -- while mixing in his changeup, curve, and slider -- is what made Tong such a monster this season as he tore through the minors while striking out an eye-popping 179 batters in 113.2 innings.

If Tong is able to unleash that version of himself this season in the majors, or simply come close to it, he has to be in consideration to be one of the Mets' starting pitchers should they reach the three-game Wild Card Series. Or to at the very least be included on the staff in some way.

With Kodai Senga still working on things in the minors and David Peterson pitching to a 5.23 ERA in the second half, it appears highly likely that the only locked in option right now to start a potential playoff game is Nolan McLean, who has been dominant over his first six big league starts.

While not having the sample size McLean does, fellow rookie Brandon Sproat has been sharp over his first two big league starts, allowing just three runs in 12.0 innings -- including 6.0 shutout frames his last time out.

So it can be argued that Sproat -- as of now -- also has a strong case to be penciled in to start in a possible Wild Card Series.

Another option could be the piggybacking duo of Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea.

What about Tong?

If he has a strong outing his next time out in what will be his final start of the regular season, the Mets will have a big, layered decision to make.

The easy part of decision would be whether to carry Tong on the playoff roster (again, should they make it). That would have to be yes.

The hard one would be how to deploy him.

Using all rookies in the Wild Card Series rotation would be unprecedented. And as tantalizing as that might be, it's hard to see the Mets doing it.

That means the possible move could be Tong in the rotation and Sproat in the bullpen or Sproat in the rotation and Tong in the bullpen.

In that scenario, no matter which way they go, the Mets will have an electric trio of arms ready to help them take on the Dodgers. Again ... should they get there.

The Mets beat the Padres, 6-1, on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field...

Here are the takeaways...

- Pete Alonsoopened the scoring in the first inning, rocketing a solo homer 445 feet to left-center that landed just to the left of the center field black that surrounds the Home Run Apple. It was Alonso's fourth consecutive game with a homer, setting a career-high.

- After San Diego got a scratch unearned run against Jonah Tong in top of the third inning to tie things, 1-1, the Mets answered back in a big way in the bottom half. 

Following back-to-back singles by Cedric Mullins and Francisco Lindor, Juan Sotodrove Mullins in with a ground out to second to give New York a 2-1 lead -- it was Soto's 100th RBI of the season. With Brandon Nimmo up, the Padres removed starter Randy Vasquez in favor of left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, but Nimmo greeted him by blasting a three-run homer to right-center to make it 5-1, Mets.

It was Nimmo's 24th home run of the year, tying his career-high, which he set in 2023.

- Tong's start began inauspiciously, as he allowed a one-out single to Luis Arraez before Manny Machado rocketed a ball over Nimmo's head in left field. But the Mets gunned down Machado at second base and Tong struck out Jackson Merrill to strand Arraez at third base.

Tong settled in after the first. He allowed the aforementioned unearned run in the third inning, but was otherwise largely dominant. He twirled perfect innings in the fourth and fifth, striking out four consecutive batters at one point. 

After starting the game sitting mainly 93-94 mph with his fastball, Tong dialed it up a bit in the middle innings while topping out at 96 mph. And the heater had plenty of life up in the zone, leading to a bunch of swings and misses. 

Overall, Tong allowed one run (unearned) on four hits while walking none and striking out eight. He threw 82 pitches, with 59 going for strikes. 

In the process, he became the first Mets pitcher aged 22 or younger to strike out eight or more batters since Noah Syndergaard in 2015.

- Tyler Rogers tossed a perfect sixth inning in relief of Tong, with Brooks Raley twirling a spotless seventh. Gregory Soto worked around two hits (that both caromed off him) in a scoreless eighth.

- Edwin Diaz retired the side in order in the ninth.

Game MVP: Jonah Tong

It was a monster outing for Tong after he struggled his last time out.

Highlights

Two more strikeouts for Jonah Tong in the fourth! pic.twitter.com/fNIDZ1dHlK

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

Pete Alonso has a home run in four straight games! pic.twitter.com/L4vfdXLVao

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

Juan Soto puts the Mets back on top with his 100th RBI of the season pic.twitter.com/vk1RLwDy2Q

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

BRANDON NIMMO!

The Mets have taken a 5-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/LejzOPDpZU

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

Two more strikeouts for Jonah Tong in the 5th 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XPMC8OAHgo

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

What's next

The Mets open a three-game series against the Nationals on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Brandon Sproat gets the start for New York, opposed by Andrew Alvarez for Washington.

Mets pitcher Kodai Senga is set to make another start in Triple-A on Thursday as he reworks his mechanics in an effort to get back to the big leagues.

While it remains unclear when Senga will return to the majors, or in what role, manager Carlos Mendoza indicated that the right-hander may not be part of the team's postseason pitching staff, if they make it.

"I wouldn't say definitely," Mendoza said. "I think we'll have the conversations and we'll take the best 13 guys that we feel are going to give us the best chance to win baseball games in October. In the meantime, we got ten more and we'll continue to treat it that way.

"But Senga, I think the biggest thing is for him to go out there today and have a good performance, and then we have decisions there."

In his first start with Syracuse on Sept. 12, Senga allowed one run on three hits over 6.0 innings (74 pitches) with eight strikeouts and no walks. His stuff looked good, including getting 11 whiffs on 11 swings with his forkball over 17 pitches.

"I like the fact that there was no walks last time when he pitched in Triple-A," Mendoza said. "Getting ahead, using all of his pitches. He got swing and misses with the split. I think it starts with him throwing strike one and then staying on the attack."

President of baseball operations David Stearnssaid Tuesday that Senga needs to show he can "consistently get major league hitters out," emphasizing that "results always matter."

Senga had struggled mightily before consenting to a minor league stint, owning a 6.56 ERA over 35.2 innings across eight starts from July 21 to Aug. 31. During that stretch, he allowed 39 hits, including eight homers, and 22 walks.

New York has 10 games left to play in the regular season, including Thursday's matchup against the Padres, and remain in possession of the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League. Senga could potentially help the Mets out of the bullpen if they make the playoffs, but he'll need to keep proving he belongs while in the minors. 

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw to retire at end of 2025 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Three-time Cy Young Award winner and former National League MVP Clayton Kershaw will retire at the end of the 2025 season, the Dodgers announced Thursday.

Kershaw is schedule to make his final Dodger Stadium regular season start on Friday against the rival San Francisco Giants.

Kershaw spent the entirety of his 18-season career with the Dodgers, a rare feat in professional sports. He was the 2014 National League MVP and an 11-time All-Star.

The 37-year-old left-hander notched his 3,000th strikeout in July. In August, as the Dodgers’ starting rotation finally got healthy, Kershaw elevated his performance to another level, going 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA that month.

Kershaw is a two-time World Series Champion, winning titles in both 2020 and 2024, and will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Kershaw’s rise to Dodgers stardom began when he was drafted No. 7 overall by the team in 2006. He went on to a career record of 222-96 with 15 shutouts, ranking first in both categories among active big leaguers. His 2.54 career ERA is the lowest in the Live Ball Era, dating to 1920.

He is tied with Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most years in as a Dodgers in franchise history.

Kershaw’s 222 wins currently rank second in Dodgers franchise history, just 11 behind Don Sutton’s 233.

Kershaw also contributed to the Los Angeles community off the field through community projects and philanthropy. In 2012, he won the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award.

“On behalf of the Dodgers, I congratulate Clayton on a fabulous career and thank him for the many moments he gave to Dodger fans and baseball fans everywhere, as well as for all of his profound charitable endeavors,” said Mark Walter, Owner and Chairman, Los Angeles Dodgers. “His is a truly legendary career, one that we know will lead to his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.”